the cave explorers of 2011

Here they are! The final cave explorer necklaces of 2011. These guys are all listed in the shop as of today. Figures range from little children playing in the snow to a old gentleman making his way through a crystal cave with his walking stick in hand. Each stone has been chosen for its amazing shape and crystal features. Take a look at them all in the Sadie shop. 

In other fun news, last week I hit 400 sales in the Sadie shop. My 400th customer just happens to be a local blogger who I connected with thanks to Got Craft? here in Vancouver. Heather has a great blog called Tea with Me. She even wrote about her Sadie necklaces after the craft fair. In addition to her order, Heather is going to be getting a pretty special surprise in celebration of this exciting milestone. 

I know I've been saying this a lot lately, but thank you all for your support! This has been a fun year (crazy at times with getting married, graduating, and all of that) and you guys have all made it even better and gotten me through the nutso times with flying colours, too. And now we have just five more work days until Christmas vacation!

it is coming

Lately I have been eating, breathing, and sleeping work. I fall asleep thinking about jewelry design and wake up in a hurry to get to the bus on time to make it to my day job, which has been really demanding lately, too. So I'm here today to share with you some of my thoughts about what I'll be doing over my Christmas holidays.

While visiting my family and friends, I plan to spend lots of time outside (no matter how cold it is, and I imagine it will be very cold). I would really like to visit the migratory bird sanctuary that I used to work at, as I've been trying to get back there for the last couple of Christmas vacations, only to have everything else make that all but impossible. Maybe since Jamie and Carrah live on that side of the city we can all go there together this year.

I would also love to walk in Weaselhead, which is close to my parent's house. Last year I did a small post with some of my photos from our afternoon there. It is definitely my favourite park in Calgary.

And, finally, I am sooooooo looking forward to sitting on some couches, eating food and drinking giant cups of coffee. I will likely spend some time on Jill's, Heather's, Jenn's, and my parents' couches, to name just a few. In fact, I'll pretty much go anywhere where I can hang out on a couch and enjoy doing almost nothing. Doing absolutely nothing is just not in my nature.

The countdown is on. Just one week until winter vacation. In the meantime, Jeff will keep delivering Vancouver's mail, I'll be happily making jewelry every night and getting stuff done at work every day, and Lola will continue to sleep 22.5 hours a day. After all, we all have to earn this little break, right?

P.S. The great irony of running an online shop around Christmas is how much time I spend helping other people get ready (gladly helping them, no less), while my own preparations lag further and further behind! I think I might be sending out some IOUs this year!

P.P.S. If you'd like your Sadie package to arrive before Christmas today is the day to get your order in, friends!

vancouver in december

Vancouver turns into a magical city this time of year. All of the major downtown streets are strung with twinkle lights and there are even more people bustling around downtown than usual. We have a very vibrant, busy downtown here, owing to the fact that many thousands of people live on the downtown peninsula, a condition not very common in North American cities. All of those downtown residents mean busy streets 24/7. It makes our little city feel like a much bigger one, if you ask me.

I'm looking forward to doing some holiday shopping in Gastown (seen above in the drizzle last night) and having dinner in a couple of my favourite restaurants this month. Jeff will be finished his exams this week and I'll have all of my craft fairs behind me and online orders shipped in time for Christmas. There are a few exciting pop up shops that I want to check out, and some places that I always stop by this time of the year, like Old Faithful.

I'm excited to bake some cookies, finish unpacking, and head away on Christmas vacation to see most of my family. What's on your holiday to do list? Do you have any travel plans?

got craft?

I'll be at Got Craft? on Sunday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It's at the Royal Canadian Legion on Commercial Drive (just a couple of blocks north of Broadway). Remember! The first forty people to show up get a swag bag with goodies from the vendors inside. I've heard that people line up to get into this show and am looking forward to being a vendor at Got Craft? for the first time.

A couple of other things to note: I'll be able to take cash, credit cards (using my phone) and PayPal/Interac money transfers (using your phone). That should have most people covered, I hope. I'm also going to have some friends helping me out, so thanks in advance to Sam and Jacqui for hanging with me on Sunday.

Here's a little time lapse video of a previous Got Craft? event:

Got Craft from blueolive on Vimeo.

new sadie mini cards

Two weeks ago I ordered some new mini business cards from Moo and they have finally arrived! I now have six different cards to send out with holiday orders, each one featuring a different photo from our amazing Lighthouse Park photoshoot with photographer (and friend) Ryan Mathieson. I'm excited to start shipping them out and to show them off at Portobello West here in Vancouver on the weekend of November 26th and 27th at Creekside Community Recreation Centre at the athlete's village.

In other Sadie news, I am updating the shop regularly. There are many new pieces listed as of yesterday, including my new favourite (pictured in the second photo in this post) which mixes vintage brass chains and charms to make a delicate, minimalist necklace. I'm going to have to make something similar for myself, I think. I'm also planning on getting a few new cave explorer necklaces made to keep this guy company as soon as I can. Now back to packing for this fast-approaching move... Have a great weekend!

a few new things...

I wanted to share with you some of the new things that I've been working on as I'm getting ready for holiday craft fairs and online shop updates. All of these pieces are available in the Sadie shop (don't forget to use coupon code: GOLOLAGO for free international shipping). Some of my new favourites stones are featured in these pieces: pink jasper, aquamarine, and tiny raw peacock ore nuggets. I've also been making more pieces using vintage chains and have been hammering lots of brass, much to the dismay of my neighbours, I'm sure.

If you're in Vancouver and can make it to Portobello West at the end of November or Got Craft? on the Drive on the first Sunday in December, I'll see you there! My next big project is making swag for the Got Craft? show. I'll share my project as it progresses...first I have to get the supplies in the mail! Have a great weekend, everyone. Lola has her surgery tomorrow. We really appreciate all of your encouraging comments!

a few new things before I go

Before I head to Montreal I really wanted to get the Sadie shop updated. I haven't been home on a weekend day in three weeks and today was my one and only day off here in Vancouver to get things done. Jeff and I had a nice day walking around the city, but I also made sure to get to the post office to send off Etsy order #299 and take some photos while it was light out so I could do some editing and put some new listings together tonight. I'm also taking a few pieces with me to Montreal in the hopes of finding a shop to carry my work. Now I have finished editing photos, researching the metaphysical properties of unikite (what are you doing tonight?) and there are lots of new things in the shop. Quartz earrings, aquamarine necklaces, rutilated quartz point necklaces, antique pressed tin earrings, and more. Check it out and have a great weekend! I'm off to New France!

P.S. Thank you all so much for your comments on our wedding posts! We really appreciate all of your kind words and that you've enjoyed us sharing the details of our wedding with you. More to come, though I promise not to talk about it forever!

d.i.y. gift guide

So, after saying I'd just be too busy to keep up with posts here, I had an idea that I thought was best suited to getting out there now, rather than later. So, here it is, fresh finds (I hope some of them are new to you) for d.i.y. holiday gift ideas. I know some people like to shop till they drop this time of year, but for others it's a chance to make things by hand (and on a budget). Here are some homemade gift ideas that I think will make you look really thoughtful AND talented. And they're relatively easy, depending on what you have a talent for, so just making something already!

photo from Lune Vintage

Let's start with this tutorial to make a tassel necklace with Lune Vintage. So easy and awesome. I was at Dressew earlier this week and found a beautiful piece of navy leather in their giant leather scrap bin and made one for myself. It's going to be my new keychain, but I think the necklace idea is pretty swell too. The rest of the leather that I have leftover is for a project I'm hoping to get my mom's help with when I go home for Christmas (look out!). Follow the link above for a complete and very easy how-to guide on Lune.

Next up, make your own terrarium with instructions from Make Something. These look like really well laid out, easy to follow instructions, and we all know that terrariums are super hot right now. Perfect for those balcony-less apartments (just like the one I'm about to move into).

photo from make something

I feel like a bit of a 70s theme is emerging, so I won't encourage you to make a macrame plant hanger, but rather suggest the Delores Park cowl from Six One Seven. Super easy if you're not an advanced knitter. Circular needles are an easy way to start knitting in the round, and this pattern just uses really simple stitches and chunky yarn, which means you shouldn't still be working on this one come next Christmas.

Finally, if it's deliciousness you're after, need you go any further than Martha? (And I do like to believe we're on a first name basis.) If you can somehow still find peaches, this rosemary peach jam (which has been renamed "dignified fun" in our house) is amazing. It goes with every kind of cheese that you can think of and is pretty easy to make. For something a bit more seasonal, I've made these hazelnut-espresso cookies before and they are disgusting! Just kidding! They're amazing and they're a great pick-me-up during finals studying. Oh yeah, school...back to that.

Enjoy this extra-long, extra-amazing song by Sufjan Stevens while you get to work on your Christmas projects. When you've listened to both parts you're half an hour in...and you won't even notice the time going by! I think I might have to make those espresso cookies this afternoon.

handmade favourites

Well, Christmas is coming and this year I'm only going to buy handmade or personally make my gifts. There are so many awesome, unique things out there and I love finding just the right thing for the special people in my life, knowing that there is no chance that someone else will get them the same thing...or that they'll expect the gift I give them!  Recently my sales on Etsy have really picked up, too. It's great, I love packaging things up and mailing them off to other cities in Canada and places all over the world. It puts a smile on my face thinking about someone really connecting with the jewelry that I make and I love putting in the extra effort to make it a special occasion when they receive their purchase in the mail. I can't help but believe that this recent uptick in sales is an indication that other people are buying handmade and local this year, too, and I love that. We should definitely be supporting creative, small businesses and this is the perfect time of year to do just that!

On that note, here are some things that I'm really loving this year. In fact, this is kind of my own personal wish list. Jeff and I are moving into a new apartment in a few weeks, and that starry cat print would be so. unbelievably. perfect. in our new foyer. I just might have to get it for us as an early Christmas present. Everything else I've had my eye on lately, too. I hope you find something you like here. What are you giving this year? Are you buying handmade?

The Persian and The Massive Stars of 30 Doradus by ZipporaLux

embroidered zodiac constellations by MiniatureRhino

Materia Prima Wooden Necklace by StudioFludd

color study locket by Verabel

P.S. It should be noted that my friend Camilla first spotted this locket and shared it with me. I'm so glad that she did!